The Great Geek Manual

2600 (http://www.2600.com) – Anybody who is into the “hacking scene” already knows this site. The site hosts “Off The Wall” and “Off the Hook,” two of the oldest and most popular podcasts in existence. Both shows are broadcast from New York City and hosted by Emmanuel Goldstein (the nom de plume of Eric Corley), publisher of 2600: The Hacker Quarterly. “Off the Hook” is more focused on telephones and technology, while “Off the Wall” is more focused on current events and general discussion. I would recommend checking these podcasts out once in a while, even if hacking is of no interest to you.

Boagworld (http://www.boagworld.com/podcast/index.html) – Paul Boag and Marcus Lillington are the two British web designers who host this insightful podcast covering every aspect of web design. Each episode includes news, review, hints and tips for design professionals. Topics include: “Designing the Next Generation of Web Apps,” “Ecommerce Usability,” and “Selling web design services.” Despite the fact that the advice comes thick and fast, the podcasts do manage to be entertaining.

Digital Planet (formerly Go Digital) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/ – When I imagine ways to kick back and relax, the BBC is not usually what crosses my mind. However, I regularly listen to Go Digital (their archives are at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/1478157.stm) with Gareth Mitchell, is a great podcast. Every week, Gareth reports on novel uses of technology “in the far flung corners of the world.” Past topics include: “PC modelling of climate change”, “Using your finger as your ID card,” and “Why the Japanese are downloading ebooks on mobiles.”

Diggnation (http://revision3.com/diggnation) – Love Digg.com? Then this is the show for you. Diggnation is a weekly show focusing on web culture, based entirely off digg.com’s social bookmarking news service. Kevin Rose & Alex Albrecht (of TechTV) deliver a hilarious and fast-past podcast covering current events. The podcast is also available in video format.

Dragon Page (http://www.dragonpage.com) or Slice of SciFi (http://sliceofscifi.com/) – Pick your poison: fantasy or science fiction. Either way hosts Evo Terra and Michael R. Mennenga deliver the goods. These podcasts feature news and reviews for their respective genres, along side interviews with some surprisingly big names, including: Anthony Michael Hall (star of The Dead Zone), Robert Jordan, and George R. R. Martin. Terra and Mennenga maintain a somewhat tongue-in-cheek tone throughout their podcasts without passing over into amateur hour, drawing listeners into the conversational tone of the show.

Extra Life Radio (http://www.myextralife.com) – Cartoonist Scott Johnson is the host of this humorous podcast, which is described as “geek tested, nerd approved.” Extra Life ranges farther afield than the other podcasts listed here. While many of the topics are extremely geeky, they rarely focus on technology in any depth. Examples of topics include: “Hmmmm. Twinkies”, “Role Play THIS!!!”, “What makes a good villain?”, and “Wolverine is a Whiner”. Regular segments include “Crappy Movie of the Week” and “How Were the Graphics?” If you spend all week listening to high tech podcasts, Extra Life is sure to be a breath of fresh air.

Fuzzyblog (http://fuzzyblog.com/podcasts/) – Hosted by Scott Johnson, co-founder of Feedster, this is an excellent podcast covering programming, IT, and business in depth. The topics say it all. “Getting blog buzz,” “Hiring sys admins,” “How to learn php,” “Learning php versus learning ruby,“ and “Understanding search engine issues” are just a few examples. The podcasts are informative and concise and leave you feeling as though you’ve just read one of those thirty dollar computer reference books Barnes and Nobles is so fond of stocking.

Geek Speak on KUSP 88.9 (http://geekspeak.org) – Every Saturday Lyle Troxell and Sean Cleveland shoot the breeze as they discuss the latest news in the computer industry and answer your phone-in tech questions. The hosts have a laid back approach that makes their show feel more like an blog than an NPR show. I recommend this show to anyone who wants to feel as if they’re in the know without the effort of concentraiting through an hour of dry newscasting.

The Kojo Nnamdi Show on American University’s WAMU 88.5 (http://www.wamu.org/programs/kn/) – Every “Tech Tuesday” Kojo features interviews with authors and industry experts on topics spanning computers, technology, and geek culture. Kojo is affable everyman with an easy-going interviewing technique that won’t leave older listeners out in the cold when it comes to high-tech discussions. Recent stories include “Eureka! Accidents and Innovation,” “Internet addiction,” and “Robots in today’s world.”

Science Friday with Ira Flatow (http://www.sciencefriday.com) – Every Friday Ira Flatow interviews leading experts on recent scientific discoveries and events in national news. The breadth of discussion topics in the Science Friday podcast archives is truely staggering: everything from: Anthropology to Weather http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/bytopic.html . Science Friday makes for great discussion around the water cooler (or chat room) and always leaves me feeling a little smarter just for listening.

ExtremeTech (http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,1860164,00.asp) – This features news and reviews for the latest high end business and home tech products. They bill themselves as, “Quality informed discussion on the current technologies for the enthuisiast.”

Twit.tv with Leo Laporte and Friends (http://www.twit.tv) – If you’re a TechTV addict, then these are the podcasts for you. “This Week in Tech” is a particularly popular program that has called “the Slashdot of the podcasting world.” Basically, the personalities from TechTV discuss the latest trends in digital technology. Last week on “GeekSpeak” (see above), Lyle and Sean noted that Twit makes GeekSpeak look good, and I have to agree. The personalities aren’t quite laid back enough to give the program a conversational tone, but they’re also not quite informative enough to program the feel of a newscast. Still, if you don’t get TechTV, and you want to see what you’re missing, this is the place to do it.